


Wrecking Ball

by 6YearsABrave



Category: Baseball RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: 2016, Accident, Atlanta Braves, Internalized Homophobia, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-06
Updated: 2016-09-06
Packaged: 2018-08-13 10:06:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7972912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/6YearsABrave/pseuds/6YearsABrave
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anthony Recker has no idea just why Ender Inciarte is so tasty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wrecking Ball

**Author's Note:**

> Set in 2016. Courtesy of my imagination.

Anthony Recker was probably having the best time of his career. He’d come to Atlanta last month after bouncing from club to club, the minors and majors, primary to backup, for the last few years. Now that the Braves’ primary catcher, Tyler Flowers, was injured for several weeks, Anthony had assumed the main job. And he was doing quite well; all their starting pitchers were very young and inexperienced and he had an easy time relating to and working with them. It had been smooth sailing for Anthony for a few weeks until he heard some of his teammates talking in the showers one evening after a win at home. 

 

“Is he just a little stuck-up bitch, or what?” Somebody asked.

“Either that, or he’s just super shy,” someone else answered. 

“How can a grown man be that shy?”

“Hey, what’s going on? Who are you guys talking about?” Anthony asked. It was Nick Markakis and Jeff Francoeur. 

Jeff furtively looked around the room, then turned back to Anthony. “Ender,” he said, referring to their everyday center fielder who was acquired in the offseason. “Nick says he asked him a question earlier, and he totally ignored him. And then, in the dugout, he was totally…standoffish toward me after he scored that run.”

Anthony was puzzled. He’d spoken to Ender Inciarte on several occasions. He had a very quiet voice and hardly looked you in the eye, but he didn’t seem quite _standoffish_ to Anthony. And he certainly didn’t seem like the name Nick had called him a minute ago. “Well he is Latin,” Anthony said. “Maybe it’s just been hard for him culturally?”

“I don’t buy it,” Nick said. “He’s not a rookie anymore.”

Anthony shook his head, continuing to a shower, mulling it over. _There has to be more to Ender Inciarte than meets the eye,_ he thought. 

 

Anthony thought more and more about what Nick and Jeff had been talking about in the shower rooms that he was practically bursting with eagerness to talk to Ender the next afternoon. He caught the center fielder, who had just finished taking batting practice, heading back to the dugout to put away his things. 

“Hey…Ender?” Anthony came up to him. 

Ender glanced up at him. He was only twenty-five, a solid eight years younger than Anthony. He had been doing particularly well in center field. “Y-yeah?” He answered quietly.

“Um…” Anthony paused, putting his hands together, not exactly knowing where to start. “I heard some of the guys talking yesterday, and…”

Ender looked at him expectantly. His eyes were a brownish hazel color, like dying moss on tree bark. It was quite a pretty color, if Anthony said so himself. “Yes?” He didn’t seem very high-strung or particularly shy. 

“Um…you okay?” Anthony finally blurted.

Ender seemed a bit puzzled. “Am I – okay?” He asked. “Like – feeling okay?”

“No…uh…” Anthony scratched his head.

“What were they saying?”

“Uh…are you okay with talking to me?” He finally asked.

Surprisingly, Ender hadn’t taken his eyes off of Anthony since he started talking. He was usually shyer than that. “Depends,” Ender answered. “About what?”

Anthony shook his head. “It’s just, uh…” He motioned back toward the dugout entrance to the clubhouse. “Want to go in there?”

Ender immediately nodded. He grabbed his bag and headed down that way with Anthony in tow. 

_Why am I being so_ …speechless _around him?_ Anthony couldn’t help but think to himself as they walked down the hallway to the clubhouse. _Cut it out!_

Ender stopped before they went in. Several of their teammates were in there, chatting and messing around and getting ready for more practice. “Okay out here?” Ender asked.

Anthony nodded. “Yeah.”

They had to draw closer to each other since the hallway was not particularly wide, and they wanted to stay out of the way. “So, uh,” Anthony started again, quietly, “the guys…they were kinda talking about you.”

“Saying what?”

“They were talking about you…about how they’ve tried to talk to you, but you kind of…I dunno if it’s true. They think you’re kind of…standoffish?”

“Standoffish?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think you are,” Anthony quickly added. “I think…” Anthony turned his gaze down. _Dammit!_

“What do you think?” Ender asked, still not looking away from Anthony.

“I think…” He still couldn’t look back up. “I think you just have something that’s holding you back.” The last part was barely a whisper.

Ender’s eyes widened a little bit. “R-really?”

“Yeah.” Anthony said softly. He finally turned and looked straight at Ender. “I’m not sure, but – I think I might have something that’s holding me back, too.” He had drawn a little closer to Ender, and Ender hadn’t recoiled.

Ender thought for a moment before asking, quietly, “Do you know what it might be?”

Anthony swallowed as he stared Ender down, not menacingly, but almost…hungrily? Eagerly? He couldn’t take his eyes off his face, his lips, his jaw, his neck…suddenly he seemed so…handsome.

“No,” he said, more to himself than to Ender. 

To his surprise, Ender took a step closer. “Are you sure?”

It was like there was some powerful, magnetic force drawing the two of them together, and Anthony could do nothing to stop it. He wanted to fight it, of course – if someone else saw the two of them this close, he definitely did not want to contemplate what would happen. 

“No,” Anthony replied with a slight shake of his head. He couldn’t stay away from Ender’s perfect face any longer, and Ender couldn’t stay away from him at the same time. 

They kissed then, with a passion that neither of them could have expected. Ender grabbed Anthony’s jersey, dropping his bag to the floor, while Anthony pulled Ender in closer. Ender’s lips were perfect, but Anthony couldn’t stop there. He licked into Ender’s mouth, trying to get to every surface, all of Ender’s shyness melting away inside of Anthony. Ender held onto him with everything he had, locking their tongues together like two snakes tangled around each other. Anthony reached up and held the side of Ender’s head and neck, stroking him, while Ender took jagged, heavy breaths. 

After a lengthy time, and with both of them still wanting more, they finally backed away, their hands darting off each other. Staring back at each other with a totally new view, Anthony held his breath. 

_Dammit._

 

In 2011, Anthony had married Kelly, a friend of a friend’s who he had met at a party a couple of years before. They related to lots of things: not getting along with their parents, having annoying younger siblings, and struggling to keep up good grades in school. Baseball was what had saved Anthony; Kelly was left with waitressing. But she made do until Anthony decided it was the best idea to propose to her. After all, who else was going to come along who was such a kind, amazing person and who he got along so well with? 

But not long into their marriage, Anthony started to realize that he only married her for her personality. She would jump on him in their bed at the most inopportune times, when he was his most tired, most cranky, or most sore. In fact, nearly every time she jumped on him, he was immediately cranky. All he wanted her to do was lay there by him, still, keeping his side warm, but no – she always wanted more. And Anthony did not have it in him to give. Their whole marriage, he would get off in the shower, or in the hotel room when nobody else was around. 

Anthony was happily married, if he did say so himself. 

 

The speed at which Ender and Anthony had run away from each other that afternoon was incredible. Confusion, bewilderment, disgust racked Anthony – but only because he knew, deep down, that he enjoyed Ender’s kiss so much. Because he had no idea how amazing a kiss could be. Because he had never experienced such a kiss – despite having been married for five years. 

That night he absorbed himself in the game so much his life seemed to depend on it. He had to get away from that center fielder – but deep down, he knew he didn’t want to. 

 

A couple of days later, the Braves headed to their hotel in St. Louis coming off a win. The games had been great relief for Anthony from having to think too much about Ender Inciarte. Ender would barely talk to anyone, so their little ‘secret’ was seemingly safe. Maybe he had even forgotten about it by now.

Anthony hadn’t. Just glimpsing Ender in the clubhouse or watching him bat (which Anthony tried to ignore) was a constant reminder. And every time he saw him, especially when it was up close, Anthony still couldn’t take his eyes off those perfect lips, that smooth skin…

He had to slap himself out of it.

Until he couldn’t – and there was a quiet knock on his hotel room door. 

Thinking nothing of it, he pulled on his robe since he’d just showered and opened the door. 

There stood the man he couldn’t get away from.

“Anthony,” Ender started quietly, fiddling his hands together nervously, “I just wanted to come and say I’m…I’m sorry. F-for the other day.”

Anthony stood there, staring at him, for a full five or six seconds, not saying a word. Then he couldn’t take it any longer.

He grabbed Ender’s shirt and yanked the younger man inside his room. Shutting the door, he held Ender against the wall, as he tripped over his own feet, and mashed his mouth on his. Ender held onto Anthony for dear life as he returned it, surprised, but pleased nonetheless. Anthony could tell; whatever it was they were feeling when they were around each other was mutual. 

They dug into each other’s mouths for several more seconds before Ender stopped and caught his breath. Anthony looked him up and down, hungry for more, eating him with his eyes. Then, gently now, he reached up under Ender’s shirt to pull it off over his head. Ender complied without hesitation as he himself pulled at Anthony’s robe. When it came off they found themselves headed straight for the bed, where they toppled onto each other, never leaving the warm, palpable pleasure of each other’s mouths. They grabbed, pulled, stroked, and held each other until both of them cried out. Ender thought he was going to dig furrows across Anthony’s back while Anthony tried not to crush the breath out of Ender.

A few intense moments later, they lay on the bed next to each other, trying to calm their breathing. Anthony said, “Why on Earth are you so damn good?” The question was mostly directed at himself. 

But Ender answered. “I’ve been asking myself that same thing about you the whole time.” 

Anthony found he couldn’t look at him.

 

The next night, the Braves were back in Atlanta, and Anthony was home. Kelly Recker was especially excited to see her husband after they had won two games against the Cardinals.

She giggled as she threw her arms around him as he walked up to their house. “Baby!” Kissing him on the cheek, she asked, “How did you guys do it?”

“I’m not really sure,” he answered, smiling. “I’m not really sure.”

“Oh my gosh, but you did great!” She went on. “Are you hungry? I’ve got a really good casserole cooking.”

“Chicken?”

“Of course! What else?” She pulled his suitcase along behind her into the house. 

 

After a wonderful dinner and catching up with Kelly for the last few days, the two of them decided it was best for them to be heading to bed. 

Kelly was up to her usual playful tricks, like always. “You want to be the _pitcher_ to my _catcher_?” She would always ask, and tonight was no exception. 

Anthony actually thought about it for a moment this time. He had been so desperate to forget the previous night that he actually pulled his shirt off and said, “Whatever you say.” 

Kelly jumped onto him like a hungry, hunting panther. _Yes,_ he thought. _Do your worst, Kelly. Show me that you’re not End-_

“Ohh,” he said frustratingly.

Kelly paused. “Is something wrong?”

“N-no,” Anthony quickly caught himself. “Why would it be?” He forced out a chuckle. 

She made an amused face as she continued on him. It was the first time in awhile that they’d actually done it together, and Anthony hoped it would be reminiscent of the previous night so he’d quit thinking of his center fielder. 

But when Kelly went down on him and made him come up, Anthony couldn’t help but see Ender Inciarte in front of him when he closed his eyes. He grabbed her arm, thinking it was Ender’s, he felt her leg brush up against him, imagining Ender. 

He forced his eyes open, jerking Kelly back and forth. Shaking his head, he quickly came, and then abruptly pulled away from her. 

She fell back to the bed, not fully satisfied. “Anthony?”

He turned over, back to her, squeezing his eyes shut and berating himself in his mind.

“Anthony?”

 

“Hey Ender, we’re, uh, going over the game plan,” Freddie Freeman poked into the center fielder’s locker about forty-five minutes before the game. “You are coming?”  
Ender looked back at his team’s leader, a worried look on his face. He nodded quickly, then turned away.

Freddie was puzzled, but left Ender alone – for now.

 

Ender Inciarte spoke to no one during that night’s game. He wasn’t exactly talkative anyway, but tonight, he could barely shake his head and nod when his teammates and manager spoke to him. It was crippling him, and Ender knew it. 

Their catcher was crippling him.

 

“Hey Ender – you okay?”

Ender abruptly raised his head. It was only Freddie. He nodded quickly.

“A couple of the guys are a little, uh…worried about you, is all.”

No response. 

“You can tell me what’s going on, if anything…and if you don’t want to tell me, tell Skip, or a friend, or somebody else. Just…” Freddie scratched his head, perplexed as to how an MLB player could be so darn shy. “Take care, okay? We’re looking out for you.”

Ender looked up. Freddie had left.

_Tell me…tell somebody else…_

 

There was a knock at Anthony Recker’s hotel room door in Phoenix. 

Anthony checked the peephole before opening it. He’d learned the hard way that it wasn’t always pleasant to be completely surprised. 

“Ender.”

“Anthony.”

A moment passed, then Anthony sighed. “Come on in,” he said. “I’m not going to attack you this time.”

“Look, I know it’d be nice, but…” Ender paused, his voice scratchy with emotion. “We can’t do…this _thing_ anymore.” He swallowed. “It’s kind of…tearing me apart.”

“I know,” Anthony immediately agreed. “You’re absolutely right. I have a wife, Ender.”

Ender looked up at him abruptly, wide-eyed. “A…a what?”

“I’m married. I’d been meaning to tell you. Her name’s Kelly.”

Ender’s mouth had dropped open in shock. “But – y-you’re gay!”

Now Anthony was surprised. “Gay? What?”

Ender cocked his head to the side in consternation. “Duh! You made love to me like your life depended on it! No straight guy could have done what you did! What _we_ did!”

“I am not gay!”

“Then explain our relationship!”

“We don’t have a relationship!” 

Ender crossed his arms. “Fine,” he said petulantly. “No more, then. I’ll just ignore all my instincts, everything that really pleases me in life, and just…live like you.”  
“What are you talking about?” Anthony had that rising, angry tone in his voice now.

“You’re closeted, but you don’t even admit it to yourself. You think you can just lie to your wife, lie your way to being normal and accepted. Well, it’s going to catch up with you.”

“I’d rather do that than waste away, being a mime!”

Ender took a step back. “I can’t do this anymore!” Ender nearly shouted, surprising Anthony. No one had ever heard Ender yell, except when he was calling for a ball. “And I know you can’t either. I meant I can’t do this anymore with you here. Playing pro ball. I want…” Ender hung his head, his voice dropping. “I want to go back to South America. With you.”

“What?”

“We can be there, together, not having interviews and reporters and managers and other teammates always looking at us. We can be alone and no one will ask questions.” He looked back up at Anthony. “We can be out.”

Anthony shook his head. “It would be easier for you to just come out here.”

Ender glared at the catcher. “What?”

“Just to the team. Come out to only the team. They’re good guys. They’ll accept you. I promise, I’ll make them accept you.” Anthony took a few steps closer. “Don’t run away. Don’t throw away the career you worked so hard for. People are different nowadays.”

“Look who’s talking.”

“You-” Anthony grunted in anger. “You can’t live like this, Ender. It’s going to kill you.”

“I know. That’s why I want to go home.”

“But what if everyone does accept you here? Hmmm? Then what? All this bellyaching will have been for nothing.” 

Ender gave him a pouty, right-back-at-you look. “If I can do it…can’t you?”

Anthony was still angry. “I am not ready for that yet,” he said. 

Ender was silent a moment. Then, “You admit it now.”

“I-” Anthony looked back at Ender, amused and shocked. Speechless.

Ender took a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “You know what? You’re right.”

Anthony looked at him. “About what?”

“About coming out.” Ender looked up at him. “This is the way I am. I can’t change it. If they can’t accept me, then I don’t need to be here. I’ll still go home. But if they do – it will be better for me than this – all this hiding. Because I can’t. I can’t do it anymore.”

Anthony’s anger melted away inside him and he actually smiled. “And if they accept you…”

“They’ll accept you.” Ender took a couple more steps closer to Anthony and kissed him, gently, on the lips. Then, running his hand down Anthony’s arm, he walked past him and out of the hotel room. 

 

The Braves were about to start their last game in Phoenix, and all of them were gathered around in the clubhouse while manager Brian Snitker went over the game plan.   
Ender and Anthony hadn’t spoken to each other since the previous night when Ender had left Anthony with a smile on his face. Now the catcher saw him again, stepping up to the front of the room desperately, as if he had something to tell their skipper. Instead, Ender just stood at the front, right near Snitker, waiting for him to finish.  
“And that’s pretty much it,” he said, finishing up by clapping his hands together and reaching for his notebook. “Go get ‘em, guys.”

Everyone was about to disband and head back to their lockers when, shockingly, Ender spoke up before they could. “And, uh,” he started, clearing his throat and squeezing his eyes shut, “I’m gay.”

It was like time had stopped in the clubhouse. Everyone had turned to look at Ender, except for Anthony Recker, who only smiled warmly. Ender was looking at him, though, pursing his lips together in anticipation. Then he turned away and went nonchalantly to his locker to get his things for the game.

By the time Anthony got to Ender a whole cluster of teammates were crowded around him, patting him on the back, telling him how brave he was and how proud he should be. Anthony had never seen their center fielder so happy, so close to his teammates, and it warmed him inside.

Finally he got a hand on his shoulder. “Told you, man,” he said.

Ender turned to him and smiled. “Yeah,” he said quietly, coyly looking downward. “You did. And I’m relieved.”

“South America’s even hotter than Atlanta, anyway,” Anthony added with a wink.

Ender only smiled.

 

Two days later, the Braves were in San Francisco when Anthony got a phone call in the middle of the afternoon from an unfamiliar number from Atlanta.

“Hello, is this Anthony? Anthony Recker?” The man at the other end asked.

Anthony stood in the clubhouse, preparing for batting practice. “Yes, who is this?”

“Uh…” The man seemed to be struggling to find the right words. “I’m sorry, but…”

“Sir?”

“My name is Jonathan Ramsey and I’m with the Grady Hospital here in Atlanta. Is your wife named Kelly?”

The hairs on the back of Anthony’s neck started to stand on end, and his skin started feeling cold. “Yes.”

Mr. Ramsey swallowed. “I’m afraid your wife was involved in a car accident on the interstate this afternoon.”

There was a pause. “I’m coming.”

“Sir,” Mr. Ramsey said, before he lost his chance, “I’m afraid your wife has passed away.”

There was another pause. Mr. Ramsey went on, “You were her first emergency contact. Are you in the area?”

Anthony was shaking his head. His throat had tightened up and he found he couldn’t speak. He had nothing he could say. 

“I am deeply sorry, Mr. Recker. Mr. Recker?”

Anthony had dropped his phone.

 

Before Anthony knew it, he was packing up his things to head to the airport by himself. But before he had left the hotel, Ender Inciarte had rushed there first.

He knocked on his door, loudly. “Anthony?”

Anthony was still numb, not believing. He went to the door, robotic-like, and opened it facing Ender with a blank expression.

Ender was shaking his head, panting. “Anthony.”

Anthony went back inside without a word, leaving the door open for Ender.

He followed him in, closing it behind him. “Anthony,” he said again.

Anthony was shaking his head. “How is this even possible?” He asked. “How is any of this possible? Why her? Why now? Why even? Why anything?” He hung his head over his suitcase, which rested on the bed. “She was perfect. She didn’t deserve this.”

“Oh, Anthony,” Ender said, coming closer and resting a hand on Anthony’s large shoulder. Anthony put his hand on Ender’s. Ender came closer and looked up at Anthony, a sorrowful look on his face. Anthony looked back down at him. “I’m here,” Ender said quietly. 

Anthony grabbed Ender’s arm and kissed his mouth, hard. Ender steadied himself against Anthony, nearly tripping over his feet. When he trapped Ender against the bed he pulled back and said, “And I’m not gonna lose you.” 

Anthony grabbed Ender as they kissed again and fell to the bed. They barely had time to fumble with each other’s clothes before they had come onto each other, slapping against each other in rhythm, trying to contain their moans and cries. 

To Anthony’s brief relief, he had actually forgotten about his tragedy for a few minutes.

 

Anthony stood at an airport terminal a couple of hours later, next to Ender Inciarte. They had barely spoken a word to each other the whole way to the airport, and no one had asked why Ender wanted to accompany him there. He now had something to ask Anthony.

“Are you going to come out?” He whispered softly up to Anthony as they waited for the plane to board. 

“What?”

“To the team.” Ender couldn’t take his eyes off the catcher.

Anthony paused, thinking it over. He looked down at Ender. “I don’t see how I can’t, now.”

Ender smiled a little. “You’re going to get past this, you know that.” He stroked his arm. “This isn’t the end.”

Anthony nodded ever so slightly. “Thanks to you.”


End file.
